RQAP-GCP Examination

The GCP Quality Assurance Professional Registry Examination consists of 165 multiple-choice questions, 15 of which are unscored but are being tested for validity for use in future exams. Candidates are allowed three and one-half (3.5) hours to complete the examination via Computer Based Testing (CBT). Individuals passing the examination will be credentialed as Registered Quality Assurance Professionals in Good Clinical Practice (RQAP-GCP).

Individuals with expertise in GCP quality assurance write the questions and review them for relevancy, consistency, accuracy, and appropriateness. SQA then prepares the examination, with advice and assistance from an independent professional testing services provider that is contracted to assist SQA with development, administration, scoring, and analysis of the examination, as well as reporting of scores directly to candidates who take an examination. (See Exam Contacts below.)

Apply for the Exam

Submit the application form from the end of the EXAM CANDIDATE HANDBOOKwith payment.
HOWEVER, if you qualify for Outreach status, please contact us at sqa@sqa.org for a different form. (See Exam Fees below.)Payment options:

Check enclosed with form (or contact us for wire transfer information); OR

Submit documentation with the form(See Eligibility tab below for more details.)

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Signature of Manager/Supervisor or SQA Active Member

Exam Fees (USD)

The exam fee includes a $75 processing fee; if candidates do not meet the eligibility requirements, the exam fee will be refunded minus the $75 processing fee.

SQA member: $430

Non-member: $595

Outreach countries: Reduced Fee*
* Outreach countries are countries that are identified as low or middle income by the World Bank. You can check to see if your country qualifies as low, lower-middle or upper-middle income on the World Bank’s website at http://go.worldbank.org/47F97HK2P0. Contact SQA Headquarters at sqa@sqa.org to request the Outreach candidate exam application.

Late fee: $50
for an application submitted after the early registration deadline but before the late registration deadline

Special accommodation: $50
for a candidate requiring special accommodations for a disability or English not being his/her native language

Testing facility outside of USA/Canada: $50

Exam Schedule

Once your application is approved, you will be sent instructions for scheduling your exam appointment with the testing services provider. The appointment will be on a specific date during the exam period.

Next Exam Period: 26 March - 28 April 2018

EARLY Application Postmark Deadline: 12 February 2018
LATE Application Postmark Deadline: 26 February 2018(late fee applies; no applications accepted after this date)

More About the Exam

GCP Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for the GCP Quality Assurance Professional Registry Examination, applicants must fulfill one of the two following requirements:

Have the equivalent of four (4) years of full-time clinical quality assurance experience as defined below prior to the examination date; OR

Have a baccalaureate degree AND the equivalent of two (2) years of full-time clinical quality assurance experience as defined below prior to the examination date.

A full-time QA Professional is one who conducts audits of, evaluates, and inspects activities as described in the GCP or GLP regulations noted in the Study References. The QA Professional’s work experience must encompass auditing, evaluating and inspecting. Any candidate specializing in a subset of these activities must demonstrate experience in all activities as outlined in the applicable Detailed Content Outline (on page 15 of the Candidate Handbook).

A QA Professional is one who, through qualification experience and training, performs audits, evaluates, and inspects against compliance requirements.

An audit is a systematic and independent examination of activities and documents to determine compliance with applicable requirements.

Independent means one who is not involved in the investigation’s design, development, execution or reporting.

Documentation Required

A copy of applicant's Curriculum vitae must be submitted with the exam application. If your CV does not demonstrate your performance of direct quality assurance tasks, your application may be declined.

Experience: To document experience in quality assurance, applicants are required to provide their supervisor or manager's signature or the signature of an Active level SQA member (if the applicant does not have a supervisor or manager) on the application.